The present invention refers to insulin therapy techniques for diabetic patients and in particular to a method for controlling the delivery of insulin in diabetic patients and to the related system.
Diabetes is a pathology that involves glycemic regulation and it can be divided into two types or categories: type 1, or insulin dependent, and type 2, or insulin resistant.
The first category (type 1) is characterised by the destruction of beta cells in the pancreas, responsible for the production of insulin, and consequently by the complete dependency of patients on delivering of insulin from the outside.
The second category (type 2) is characterised by an alteration in the secretion of insulin and a reduction in sensitivity to such a hormone.
Adequate glycemic regulation, with levels contained within a glycemic range equal to 70-140 mg/dl, is of primary importance for both categories of diabetes since a low level of glycemia in the blood, hypoglycemia, can take the diabetic patient into a coma and, if not appropriately treated, death. On the other hand, a high level of glycemia in the blood, hyperglycemia, over a long period can lead to long-term problems, including cardiovascular illnesses, ictus, hypertension, retinopathy, renal complications and alterations of various types to the nervous system.
Currently, scientific research is of course aimed at preventing the spread of the pathology and at optimising insulin therapy techniques by developing methods and systems for controlling the delivery of insulin in a diabetic patient, in order to regulate the level of glycemia in the blood of the patient.
Currently in development is a system for automatically controlling the delivery of insulin in a diabetic patient, defined in the literature as “artificial pancreas”, consisting of a subcutaneous glycemia sensor and a subcutaneous insulin pump implanted in the patient, connected to a microcontroller configured to carry out, through the execution of a suitable algorithm, a method for controlling the delivery of insulin in the patient.